This article has been reprinted from the Sept. 12 USDA Grain Transportation Report.
For the week ending August 29, total inspections of grain (corn, wheat, and soybeans) for export from all major U.S. export regions reached 1.96 million metric tons (mmt).
Inspections were down 15 percent from the previous week, down 12 percent from last year, and 24 percent below the 3-year average.
Although corn inspections jumped 65 percent from the past week, the increase could not offset the 28 percent drop in the amount of wheat inspected nor the 30 percent decrease in soybean inspections.
Grain inspections decreased 46 percent, from the previous week, in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) but increased 14 percent in the Mississippi Gulf.
During the last four weeks, inspections are below last year and the 3-year average by 10 and 16 percent, respectively.